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Good morning. Countless people have been attacked by a brutal regime. Many have been killed in appalling circumstances. A red line has been crossed. What happens next? That is the question that many of us have grappled with in respect of the tragedy that has unfolded in Syria throughout its long civil war, and in particular following the chemical attack in the town of Douma a week ago, leading to the air strikes by the US, UK and France on chemical weapons sites in Syria overnight. The 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Rai, himself faced a very similar dilemma at the end of the 17th Century when Sikhs were being persecuted in the Mughal Empire. The Guru’s own father had been executed in 1674, and the Guru was worried about how his community could survive this relentless oppression. He needed to protect his people, but he also wanted to ensure that Sikhs remained proud of their unique identity and heritage. It was on the day of Vaisakhi in 1699, almost 25 years after his father’s death, that the Guru created the Khalsa, or the Order of the Pure Ones, as his way of challenging this persecution. Men initiated into the Khalsa took on the name ‘Singh’ or ‘lion’, and women became ‘Kaur’ or ‘princess’. All differences would be put aside upon joining the Khalsa, and all would be treated equally. After many battles, the Khalsa became the inner core of the faith, an order willing to protect and preserve the Sikh tradition, as well as defend the rights of others to practise their own beliefs in peace and harmony. After initiating the first five Khalsa Sikhs, the Guru asked them to initiate him into the Khalsa as well. Gobind Rai became Gobind Singh, and the Guru gained the epithet of the Guru-disciple. Today, Sikhs across the world are celebrating Vaisakhi, and the birth of the Khalsa. Gurdwaras will be busy this weekend, and the langar kitchens will be feeding worshippers around the clock. It’s a time of great joy and celebration, but it’s also a time when Sikhs will be thinking about our own turbulent history and the actions taken by Guru Gobind Singh to defend our existence over 300 years ago. But for the Khalsa, the Sikh community simply wouldn’t exist in the present day. Solutions are never easy or simple, and it isn’t as straightforward as saying we should go to war or simply watch on in horror and disgust. This isn’t a black and white issue, and it shouldn’t be portrayed as such. Sometimes intervention is necessary and perhaps even inevitable. We may be thousands of miles away, but it doesn’t feel right to ignore the plight of those who are suffering. After all, as Guru Gobind Singh himself said, “When all other methods fail, it is proper to hold the sword in the hand.” But that should be held in the context of another of his famous quotes, which is that we should “recognise the whole of humanity as one”.